1 - Core System

• 1.1 - Character Origin Procedure
• 1.2 - Shared Rules and Glossary
• 1.3 - Compatibility with Existing 5e Characters
• 1.4 - Power Budget and Safety Rails

1.1 - Character Origin Procedure

Step 1: Choose an Ancestry

Your ancestry provides creature type, size, Speed, senses, and a small set of inherited traits. An ancestry does not determine personality, alignment, profession, language, or ability-score increases.

Step 2: Choose a Lineage

Choose one lineage listed in your ancestry. A lineage is the system's sub-race layer: a physical, magical, environmental, or inherited expression of the broader ancestry.

Instead of a normal lineage, you may choose Aasimar, Tiefling, or Mixed Lineage from the Versatile Lineages chapter. You retain your base ancestry and replace only its lineage.

Step 3: Choose a Heritage

Heritage represents a regional people and way of life: the community that taught you language, etiquette, food, public memory, survival routines, and assumptions about belonging. Any ancestry and lineage may belong to any heritage when the character's history supports it.

Choose one profile from the Heritages chapter. Gain one listed language or dialect and choose two Heritage Expressions. The profile suggests common choices, but another catalog expression is valid when you explain how your community taught it. Expressions grant narrow, reliable story permissions rather than numerical bonuses. They never grant ability-score increases.

Step 4: Choose a Background

Background represents prior work and life experience. Choose it using the campaign's normal D&D 5e background rules. V4.0 does not add another set of ability-score increases, proficiencies, equipment, feats, or background features.

The Using D&D Backgrounds chapter explains 2014-style, 2024-style, and existing Hiraeth backgrounds.

Step 5: Choose an Ancestral Detail and Ancestral Trait

Choose one Ancestral Detail from your base ancestry. A Detail is a small inherited awareness, adaptation, or physical expression. It is intentionally narrower than a skill proficiency and does not grant blanket advantage on checks.

Then choose one level-1 Ancestral Trait from your base ancestry, your versatile lineage if you have one, or the Universal Ancestral Traits and Talents chapter.

For a quick build, take both recommendations in your lineage's Quick Package. For a modular build, replace either recommendation with any eligible option. The package never grants additional features.

You gain another ancestry talent at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20. You must meet its level requirement and cannot choose the same talent twice unless it says otherwise.

These later choices represent discovery rather than a checklist of powers present at birth. When you choose one, describe whether it was awakened by danger, trained deliberately, inherited through memory, foretold by prophecy, or accepted as part of a changing body.

Step 6: Choose an Optional Flaw

Flaws replace mandatory power-buying drawbacks. A Flaw grants no permanent character power. When it materially makes a scene harder, the GM can award Heroic Inspiration, no more than once per session from this rule.

Some Flaws are associated with a particular ancestry, lineage, or heritage because they echo a common physical limitation or social pressure. Association is never a prerequisite: anybody may choose an appropriate Flaw, and nobody must take one because of their origin.

Duplicate Proficiencies

If ancestry or background grants a proficiency you already have at character creation, choose another proficiency of the same kind. A feature grants expertise only when it explicitly says so. Heritage Expressions are not proficiencies and do not trigger this rule.

1.2 - Shared Rules and Glossary

Origin Vocabulary

Ancestry is the broad physical body and inherited nature.

Lineage is the predefined physical, magical, environmental, or supernatural sub-race package within an Ancestry. A Versatile Lineage replaces the normal Lineage but retains the Ancestry chassis.

Heritage is a learned regional people and way of life. It can come through birth, adoption, migration, diaspora, travel, or later belonging.

Background is the character's profession, training, social position, or former life under the campaign's normal D&D rules.

Ancestral Detail is a narrow inherited sensory or physical ribbon chosen at character creation.

Ancestral Trait is the level-1 ancestry, versatile-lineage, or universal power choice. Ancestral Talents are the later choices at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20.

Quick Package is a ready-made recommendation for an Ancestral Detail and level-1 Trait. It grants no extra feature and either recommendation can be changed.

Flaw is an optional story pressure that grants no permanent power. Association with an Ancestry, Lineage, or Heritage is a suggestion rather than a prerequisite.

Ancestry Save DC

When an ancestry feature calls for a saving throw, its DC is:

8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability modifier named by the feature

If a feature lets you choose an ability modifier, make that choice when you gain the feature. It cannot be changed unless the GM allows retraining.

Uses and Recovery

• Once per long rest means one use, regained when you finish a long rest.
• Once per short or long rest means one use, regained when you finish either kind of rest.
• Proficiency-bonus uses per long rest means a number of uses equal to your proficiency bonus, with all uses regained when you finish a long rest.
• A feature is never proficiency-bonus uses per short rest unless it explicitly says so.
• If two features use the same resource, they say so.

Low-Light Vision

You see in dim light within 60 feet as though it were bright light. Low-light vision does not improve your vision in darkness.

Darkvision

You see in dim light within the listed range as though it were bright light and in darkness as though it were dim light. You cannot discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Thermal Sight

Within the listed range, you perceive heat emitted by creatures and exposed surfaces as muted silhouettes in dim light or darkness. Thermal Sight reveals location and broad shape, not color, writing, facial detail, or other fine visual information. It does not perceive invisible creatures, see through cover, or automatically reveal a creature that is Hidden. Smoke, fog, ambient heat, and creatures or objects near the surrounding temperature can obscure it normally.

Thermal Sight is not Darkvision. A character using only Thermal Sight still needs light to read, recognize a painted symbol, inspect a lock, or distinguish a cold object from its surroundings.

Tremorsense

Within the listed range, Tremorsense locates creatures and moving objects that produce vibrations through the same connected surface you are touching. It does not detect flying or incorporeal creatures, see through open air, reveal visual detail, or detect a motionless creature merely for existing.

Utility Cantrip

A utility cantrip is a cantrip that does not deal damage and does not directly restore Hit Points. The GM decides whether an unusual cantrip qualifies. When a feature grants one, choose Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma as its spellcasting ability when you gain it.

An innate cantrip is an ancestry feature, not proof of spellcaster training. A Fighter who knows mending, a Rogue who knows message, or a Bard who knows light has not gained another class or spell list.

Heroic Inspiration

If the campaign uses Inspiration rather than Heroic Inspiration, treat references to Heroic Inspiration as Inspiration. You can never hold more than one from this system at a time.

Natural Weapons

An ancestry natural weapon is a simple melee weapon with which you are proficient. Unless stated otherwise, it uses Strength and deals the listed damage plus the ability modifier used for the attack.

Movement

A climb, swim, burrow, or fly Speed is separate from walking Speed. A limited movement feature never allows movement through occupied spaces or solid barriers unless it says so.

Stacking

• A creature cannot benefit from the same named feature more than once.
• Temporary Hit Points do not stack.
• If two features set Armor Class, choose one formula.
• Extra damage described as once per turn remains once per turn even if multiple effects would trigger it.

1.3 - Compatibility with Existing 5e Characters

V4.0 is written for the Hiraeth 5e rules environment and can support either 2014-style or 2024-style classes.

Backgrounds

Use the background system selected by the campaign without alteration:

• A 2014-style background provides exactly the proficiencies, languages or tools, equipment, and feature assigned by that rules set or by the existing Hiraeth background page.
• A 2024-style background provides exactly its ability-score options, Origin feat, proficiencies, tools, and equipment.
• If the campaign uses a house conversion between editions, use that campaign-wide conversion. V4.0 supplies no private conversion bonus.

Never combine the best pieces of two editions unless every character in the campaign uses the same hybrid background rule.

Converting an Earlier V4 Draft Character

The large Heritage pass changes vocabulary more than it changes the inherited chassis:

1. Keep the current Ancestry.
2. Rename the current physical Heritage its Lineage.
3. Rename the current Culture the character's Heritage and choose a more specific profile when one now exists.
4. Replace the old Culture Practice with two fitting Heritage Expressions.
5. Replace the old ancestry knack with a concept-equivalent Ancestral Detail.
6. Rename the level-1 ancestry talent the character's Ancestral Trait; later choices remain Ancestral Talents.
7. Reclassify a complication as a Flaw without changing its agreed safety boundary.

This terminology pass should preserve a functioning character concept. If an old knack moved into Heritage because it represented learned knowledge, take that Heritage Expression and select a new inherited Detail.

Existing Species or Race

Do not stack a complete official species or race package with v4.0. Convert the concept by choosing the closest v4.0 ancestry and lineage.

Existing Characters

An existing character should convert only between sessions and with GM approval. Record the old features, build the v4.0 origin, then compare:

• Armor Class and saving throws.
• Movement modes.
• Resistances.
• At-will damage and healing.
• Uses per rest.
• Skill, tool, and language proficiencies.

The conversion should preserve concept, not every accumulated advantage. If a lost feature is essential to the character's identity, create a narrow replacement talent rather than stacking both systems.

1.4 - Power Budget and Safety Rails

These are design rules for v4.0 content and adjudication.

Level-1 Budget

An ancestry chassis, one lineage, one narrow Ancestral Detail, and one level-1 Ancestral Trait together should approximate one modern 5e species package. Heritage is language and story access. Background remains whatever the campaign's native D&D rules grant and is balanced outside this ancestry budget.

Active Powers

• A broad combat reaction is normally once per long rest.
• A narrow signature technique can refresh once per short or long rest when it is the only short-rest ancestry resource the character tracks at that level.
• Proficiency-bonus uses per long rest are reserved for signature features such as a breath weapon.
• A feature should not add proficiency bonus to every attack, save, or check for a full minute.
• Preventing a fall to 0 Hit Points is normally once per long rest.
• Resistance to a common damage type counts as a major feature.

Accuracy and Armor

V4.0 does not grant repeated untyped bonuses to attack rolls or saving throws. Armor reactions should apply to one attack and should not refresh on every short rest.

Rare Senses

Ordinary vision is the default. Low-Light Vision belongs to the complete Felis body and a small number of explicit Lineages. Thermal Sight belongs to Drow. Dwarven vibration sense requires contact with stone or earth. Aasimar, Tiefling, Elf, Gnome, Dragonborn, Kobold, Goliath, and Aerimpi do not receive generic night vision from their base chassis.

Special senses should preserve the need for lamps, torches, light-producing magic, scouts, and environmental preparation. A sense that reveals silhouettes or vibration does not silently become ordinary sight.

Flight and Aerial Movement

Flight is divided into distinct capabilities:

• A glide controls a fall but cannot gain altitude or hover.
• A wing-assisted leap or burst can cross a dangerous gap but must end on a supporting surface.
• Sustained flight grants a Fly Speed for a stated duration and requires a significant Lineage or Talent investment.
• Mastered flight is an apex ability reserved for an iconic winged body at level 20.

Physical wings are not automatically mechanical flight. Clothing and fitted armor normally accommodate them without special accounting. A feature that grants a Fly Speed states its armor limit; it does not allow hovering or carrying another creature unless it explicitly says so.

Class-Neutral Choice

Each Ancestry should offer several ways to matter:

• bodily offense, defense, movement, or endurance for martial characters;
• perception, traversal, recall, and environmental interaction for exploration;
• presence, empathy, communication, and reputation for social play;
• protection, coordination, rescue, and preparation for support;
• supernatural expression that does not require a spellcasting class.

No single Ancestry must cover every pillar in its chassis. Its Lineages, Traits, Talents, and Quick Packages should collectively avoid assuming that the character is a spellcaster.

Later Talents

Later ancestry talents are intentionally narrower than class features and full feats. They can improve an ancestry's signature mechanic, add a limited movement mode, or grant a strong once-per-long-rest expression. They should not duplicate high-level class identity.

The level-20 choice is the apex of an ancestry story, not another class capstone. It should perfect an existing ancestry path, reveal a final transformation, or create a legendary expression without supplying an entire combat routine.

Narrative Abilities

When an ability is intended as story permission rather than a numerical bonus, it says what information or access it reliably provides. It does not silently imply advantage on every related check.